Number of India’s richest likely to grow by 9.4% till 2028

Bengaluru: The population of India's high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are expected to increase by 9.4% by 2028, as per a report by real estate consultancy Knight Frank, released on Wednesday. HNWIs are those with assets exceeding $10 million.

The number of HNWIs is estimated at 85,698 in 2024, and is expected to rise to 93,753 by 2028. Presently, India is home to 3.7% of the world’s wealthiest individuals, at fourth position after the United States, China and Japan.

India’s billionaire population has seen a strong year-on-year growth of 12% in 2024. The world’s fastest growing major economy is now home to 191 billionaires, of which 26 joined the ranks in just the last year, as per the report. The combined wealth of these billionaires is estimated at $950 billion.

"This expansion in wealth is not just in scale but also in the evolving investment preferences of India’s elite, who are diversifying across asset classes, from real estate to global equities,” said Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India.

On the real estate front, buying property got dearer in Mumbai in 2024, with a 99 square metres (sm) of prime residential real estate marked at $1 million. On the contrary, prime property prices in Delhi and Bengaluru have become less expensive over ten years with $1 million buying 11% more at 208 sm and 9% more at 370 sm, respectively. 

“While the direction of travel is positive for house prices and has supported the growth we have seen in over three-quarters of markets, the reduction in debt costs is still not sufficient to turn this into a trend in most markets. It will take additional rate cuts during 2025 to restore momentum,” said Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank. 

The report titled, ‘The Wealth Report 2025’ also stated that almost half of the next generation HNIWs aspire to own a luxury car, the most preferred luxury asset, followed by real estate. The next generation survey, studies individuals in the age group of 18 to 35 years and income of over $1,25,000.

Moreover, its luxury index which tracks the performance of ten popular investments, reveals that handbags were the best performing luxury asset class with prices rising 2.8% in 2024. While financial markets soared in 2024, this index fell 3.3%, reporting a negative growth for the second year in a row. 

The weakest sector was art which dropped 18.3%, with the market seeing a total reversal from the double-digit growth of 2023 and a worse performance than during the Covid-19 crisis, followed by fine wine, down by 9.1%, impacted by rapidly changing consumption patterns.